China has begun building its first polar expedition cruise ship, state news agency Xinhua reported Saturday, as the country looks to shipping lanes opened up by global warming to extend President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative to the Arctic.

Construction of the 104.4-meter vessel, equipped with an advanced electric propulsion and control system for navigating sea ice, was expected to be completed by August 2019, Xinhua reported.

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Omnia mirari, etiam tritissima.-Science is a jealous mistress and takes little account of a man's feelings.

New Arctic transshipment hub is built in former submarine baseThe base, which previously housed 12 submarines from the powerful Pacific Fleet, will soon become terminal for Novatek’s Arctic LNG.

The Russian natural gas company now confirms that the projected transshipment hub will be located in Bechevinka, the abandoned Navy compound in Kamchatka. It will cost up to 1,5 billion and have a capacity of up to 20 million tons of LNG per year, Novatek Deputy Head Aleksandr Fridman told Interfax.

It will be a crucial component in Novatek’s out-shipment scheme for LNG produced in the Arctic. The energy company late last year started production of liquified natural gas in the Yamal LNG project and is aiming for a major expansion into several more Arctic LNG projects. A key share of the liquified gas is aimed at the Asian market and Novatek and partners are building a big fleet of ice-class carriers able to autonomously sail through Arctic waters.

In Bechevinka, the powerful specialised tankers will unload the LNG, whereupon conventional carriers will bring it further to the markets.

According to Interfax, preparations for the construction of the new terminal is already ongoing.

From an ecologically point of view that's sound but the intention when conditions allow is probably to shuttle LNG East to it and max out storage capacity before the Winter sets in and at 19 knots the new fleet will make very fast passage most of the time. Conditions off Kamchatka would allow normal tankers to make final deliveries.

From an ecologically point of view that's sound but the intention when conditions allow is probably to shuttle LNG East to it and max out storage capacity before the Winter sets in and at 19 knots the new fleet will make very fast passage most of the time. Conditions off Kamchatka would allow normal tankers to make final deliveries.

The LNG fleet being built with a lot of financial and other help from China is designed to shift the gas all year round. Loads of posts about it on postings going back to last summer on this thread, e.g.

The vessel Tian Hui flying the flag China makes the first transit flight to water areas of NSR from the West (Emden port, Germany) on the East (Kusniro port, Japan), on July 21 the vessel has entered the water area through the cape of Desire.

The vessel Tian Hui flying the flag China makes the first transit flight to water areas of NSR from the West (Emden port, Germany) on the East (Kusniro port, Japan), on July 21 the vessel has entered the water area through the cape of Desire.

For anyone wondering (like me), Cape Desire (Mys Zhelaniya) is the northernmost point of Novaya Zemlya, at the entrance to the Kara Sea.

A Danish vessel setting sail from Vladivostok this week is set to become the first container ship to tackle the Arctic sea route north of Russia.

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The Venta Maersk, owned by Maersk Line, and carrying 3,600 containers, hopes to reach St Petersburg by late September.

That could be up to 14 days faster than the southern route via the Suez Canal.

Maersk will collect data on the Northern Sea Route to see if the melting of Arctic sea ice has made the passage economically viable.

Maersk said: "The trial passage will enable us to explore the operational feasibility of container shipping through the Northern Sea Route and to collect data."

The Venta Maersk, designed as a new "ice-class" container ship, will carry frozen fish and other refrigerated and general cargo.

The route stretches from the Bering Strait in the east between Russia and Alaska to Norway in the west.

However, Maersk added: "Currently, we do not see the Northern Sea Route as a commercial alternative to our existing network, which is defined by our customers' demand, trading patterns and population centres."

The "Icebreaker Gap": How Russia is Planning to Build more Icebreakers to Project Power in the Arctic

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Recently, the state of the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaker fleet has been making waves in Washington, DC. Republlcans have suggested diverting funding from the Coast Guard’s initiative to acquire a new heavy icebreaker to the border wall.

This comes at a time where Russia and China are investing more and more money into the Arctic capabilities of their militaries, including icebreakers. But what is Russia’s overall Arctic strategy? How do icebreakers fit into that picture and enable them to project power into the Arctic, and what do they stand to gain?

The current state of the relative size of icebreaker fleets is best summed up in one diagram (see below) put out by the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Waterways and Ocean Policy. There are some key points to be seen here. Only the United States and Russia operate “heavy” icebreakers, indicated in black. Those icebreakers have the highest amount of power available to them, allowing them to operate in the thickest ice sheets. Of those heavy icebreakers, America only has one operational. Russia, on the other hand, has two operational with four more in refit. Once refits are complete, Russian heavy icebreakers will outnumber the American ones 3:1, providing Russia with better capability to run operations in heavy ice packs.

America’s only heavy icebreaker, the USCGC Polar Star- the USCGC Polar Star first entered service in the 1970s. Russia’s fleet of heavy icebreakers are significantly younger than the American ships, entering service in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Russia also fields a far larger fleet of light and medium icebreakers, although these cannot handle thicker ice and mostly are used to keep trading lanes open to northern ports such as Arkhangelsk.In addition to its already formidable fleet, Russia is planning to build some even bigger icebreakers. The “Leader”-class (LK-110Ya/Pr. 10510) of icebreakers is expected to weigh somewhere around 71,000 tons, which would make it by far the heaviest icebreaker in the world. To compare, the USCGC Polar Star weighs only around 10,000 tons. The “Leader” would be powered by 110 MW nuclear power plant (hence the 110 in the designation) and be charged with being one of many ships keeping the North Sea route open.

While the “Leader” class is still only on paper at the moment, Russia is nearly done with the “Arktika”-class (LK-60Ya/Pr. 22220) of heavy nuclear icebreakers. These ships also are massive, weighing in at around 33,000 tons. The new Arktika-class ships are expected to undergo sea trials at the end of 2019 .

That's a great diagram.In all honesty, the Russians need way more icebreakers than anyone else, due to their very long arctic coast with actual ports and towns that need to be supplied by sea. But certainly the US and Canada should build more, both for research purposes, arctic operations, and strategic considerations.

At 72°N, there are only 34 km per degree of longitude, so many of those decimals are superfluous. The 6th decimal place is roughly 3.4 cm vs 11 cm in the latitude direction.

That is where the ship's bridge is (more specifically, where the GPS instrument is). The rest of the ship is elsewhere (i.e., at different decimal places). [or so I learned from an old Coast Guard sailor]

At 72°N, there are only 34 km per degree of longitude, so many of those decimals are superfluous. The 6th decimal place is roughly 3.4 cm vs 11 cm in the latitude direction.

That is where the ship's bridge is (more specifically, where the GPS instrument is). The rest of the ship is elsewhere (i.e., at different decimal places). [or so I learned from an old Coast Guard sailor]

It is to be hoped elsewhere is very close to the bridge

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"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!""And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

At 72°N, there are only 34 km per degree of longitude, so many of those decimals are superfluous. The 6th decimal place is roughly 3.4 cm vs 11 cm in the latitude direction.

That is where the ship's bridge is (more specifically, where the GPS instrument is). The rest of the ship is elsewhere (i.e., at different decimal places). [or so I learned from an old Coast Guard sailor]

The Bremen encountered sea ice for the first time today at 73.868038° N 148.019587° E

The Bremen must have been looking for that ice - the only patch in that area?

Probably wanted to make it interesting for the clients, they'd hardly seen any ice so far! You'd expect they'll encounter some more in the next day or so.

And they've managed to avoid ice since then apart from a few occasional patches and are now closing in on Wrangel and if the maps are to believed unlikely to encounter more ice.This is the thickest patch (pretty much clear water 30 mins later):

Shipping traffic along Russia’s Northern Sea Route reached new heights during the first eight months of 2018 as cargo volume increased by more than 80 percent compared to the same period last year, Russian media outlets report. The route is, at least during the short summer season, increasingly resembling a traditional shipping lane home to not only natural gas and oil tankers, but also general cargo vessels, cruise ships and, for the first-time ever, container vessels.

China’s shipping giant COSCO, as in previous years, has been very active on Northern Sea Route (NSR), conducting a record-equalling five transits, shipping traffic data indicates. Hapag-Lloyd’s MS Bremen, is sailing along the route with with nearly 200 guests and crew, while Danish company Maersk is sending the first-ever container ship through the Arctic.

During the first half of 2018 five purpose-built ice-class LNG carriers transported 34 loads of natural gas, around 2.5 million tons, to markets in Europe.

As the Northern Fleet unfolds a series of exercises in Russian east Arctic waters, Head Commander Nikolay

According to Yevmenov, a new base located near the town of Tiksi will stand ready for operations already within six months. It will include a total of 11 buildings, all of which will be interconnected with roof-covered passages. The buildings will house living quarters for soldiers, an administrative unit, a diesel-fueled power station, water and fuel storage facilities, a cantina, garages and more, the Northern Fleet informs.

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Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein

"A convoy of Chinese cargo ships, with at least two carrying turbine blades and other equipment for the wind power industry, has traveled via the Northern Sea Route from Asia to Europe across the Arctic Ocean."

Venta Maersk passing through the New Siberian Islands at a steady 9 knots, no ice there when the Bremen went through about two weeks ago.Last reported at 2018-Sep-11 00:00 UTC. Position N 74°12' E 146°12'.

I anticipate that the Northern Sea Route will soon be open all year round, regardless of the weather conditions and etc. It was the only thought that occurred to me when I came across an article stating that such powerful countries as China and Russia work closely together to develop the Arctic. Contrary to popular opinion, the report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute mentioned in the article proves that Moscow is not only open to foreign cooperation, but is also ready to increase it. And it is very well illustrated by the “impressive track record of cooperation between China and Russia on the Yamal LNG project”.

And if now I’m probably overestimating the scale of warming of relations between these two countries, then the Western countries definitely underestimate the scale of non-cooperation with Russia on Arctic issues, which may further put them at a disadvantage in terms of access to the Northern Sea Route. And what do you think?

Russia rules mineral resources up to 200 miles from their coast.Russia rules the sea only up to 12 miles from their coast, in theory.

But with their rapidly expanding fleet of ice-breakers (40+ and some enormous nuclear-powered jobs in the works), their development of specialised military hardware for Arctic use, new Arctic military bases, the bet on fossil fuel and other minerals from the Arctic for economic survival, theory may give way to force.

ps: China financed a large lump of the Yamal developments to fill the gap when US sanctions blocked western financial institutions from providing the loot.

This is Geo-Politics - The Great Game, being played out in the Arctic. Peace has little to do with it. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is, in my opinion, being naive.

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"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!""And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

I had dinner last night with a friend who does ocean cores in the arctic. I am informed that the chinese have a icebreaker (originally bought from ukraine for scrap) converted into a scientific platform. And that they are building a new one, probably for commercial use.

I guess that cooperation between countries is precisely the thing that has much to do with geopolitics or The Great Game, whatever you call it. And the Chinese… they know it. They always know exactly or what they do. That’s why they have an expanding economy.

And as for their icebreakers, either converted or built, they are, again, the part of China’s far-sighted policy… or at least their effort to remain the part of The Great Game.

Well, in theory Alaska also should be a russian region, not the state Of USA. I know the opinion that Alaska was not actually sold by Russia, but leased for 99 years in 1867, but the USSR for certain political reasons did not require it back. Some historians also argue that Russia did not receive gold that drowned with the Orkney barge that carried it during the storm. But I have no idea is it true or "The Great game"

2018/9/19A commercial container ship has for the first time successfully navigated the Northern Sea Route of the Arctic Ocean, a route made possible by melting sea ice caused by global warming.

With help from Russia's most powerful nuclear icebreaker, it followed the Northern Sea Route up through the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska, before travelling along Russia’s north coast and into the Norwegian Sea.

Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping company, told The Independent its ship, Venta Maersk, was expected to reach its final destination of St Petersburg next week.

The new ice-class 42,000 ton vessel, carrying Russian fish and South Korea electronics, left Vladivostok, in the far east of Russia, on the 23 August.

They hide the punch line at the end:

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“Currently, we do not see the Northern Sea Route as a commercial alternative to our existing network.”

Well, in theory Alaska also should be a russian region, not the state Of USA. I know the opinion that Alaska was not actually sold by Russia, but leased for 99 years in 1867, but the USSR for certain political reasons did not require it back. Some historians also argue that Russia did not receive gold that drowned with the Orkney barge that carried it during the storm. But I have no idea is it true or "The Great game"

Seems that the sale was a sale, not a lease. And the gold was used to build railroads in Russia:

One person is reported dead and Russia’s only aircraft carrier has been damaged as floating dry dock sinks into the waters of the Kola Bay.

It was early morning Tuesday in Roslyakovo, near Murmansk, when Russia’s biggest floating dry dock experienced serious technical problems reportedly triggered by a power outage.

The accident started as aircraft carrier «Admiral Kuznetsov» was to be taken out of the dock and into the nearby waters, Interfax reports. The vessel was damaged as a large crane fell over the ship deck, sources tell the news agency.

There has not come any official comments from Zvezdochka, the company that operates yard No 82 in Roslyakovo. However, regional Governor Marina Kovtun has issued a video report about the incident.

«It is hard to say what is the reason for the accident,» Kovtun says in the comment distributed on Twitter. «There are rescue services on site and divers in the water, and also a group from the Northern Fleet as well as an investigative team»

The aircraft carrier has now been towed to the nearby Sevmorput Yard No 35, yard press spokesman Yevgeny Gladyshev told Interfax. He makes clear that the power outage was what caused the accident.

There has in recent days been several cases of power outage all over the region, including in the cities of Severomorsk and Murmansk.

«It is not yet clear whether the floating dock at the 82nd shipyard, on which aircraft carrier «Admiral Kuznetsov» stood, will be raised», Aleksey Rakhmanov told Interfax.

According to the company director, the dock is now located on deep waters and a lifting operation «will be complicated and very expensive.»

«To lift the dock, which has a loading capacity of 80,000 ton, is in itself an operation that will cost no small money,» he underlines. He also does not exclude that the installation is significantly damaged.

«To say exactly whether it is possible to lift this dock can be done only after divers have studied the condition of the equipment,» he makes clear.

According to the shipyard, the water depths in the area of the dock are more than 60 meters.

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Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy may follow up October’s carrier strike group operations in the Arctic with another foray into the icy High North, with leadership considering sending a group of ships into a trans-Arctic shipping lane this summer, the Navy secretary said.

With three potential trans-Arctic routes potentially opening up, he said, the Navy’s discussion about Arctic presence has changed dramatically in the past two years.

“As an example, this summer, the [chief of naval operations] and I have talked about having some ships make the transit in the Arctic. It’s going to be a multi-service task – I think you’ll see the Coast Guard involved. We’re just fleshing it out right now. But what is the purpose of that? We have to learn what it’s like to operate in that environment,” he said.

Spencer said the Ticonderoga-class cruisers were the last class of Navy ships to be designed with steam systems to remove ice from the ship, and that newer classes are not ice-hardened or equipped with systems to remove ice.

“A strategic port up in the Bering [Sea] area is being explored, but that would be a whole-of-government approach: that would be Coast Guard, Navy and [Department of] Commerce in that regard. But it’s an area we have to focus on, most definitely,” the secretary continued.

... The Arctic is heating up and changing twice as fast as the rest of the globe. Some anticipate that it could regularly be virtually ice-free in summer by 2040. That reality, coupled with Russia’s aggressiveness, is forcing the Navy to look at its ability to operate in there with thawed eyes. “You’re seeing the discussion change dramatically,” said Spencer. “We had the Navy’s [Arctic] Roadmap. We are adjusting that…and there’s more to come.”

Two of the three ships in the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group had to return to port in Reykjavik, Iceland, after heavy seas en route to Norway injured a few sailors and caused damage to one ship’s well deck.

According to a Navy news release, “the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) experienced heavy seas during the evening of Monday, October 22, 2018. As a result, the ship’s Landing Craft Utilities (LCU) and well deck experienced damage. The Gunston Hall is in port Reykjavik, Iceland for further assessment.”

Amphibious transport dock USS New York (LPD-21) also returned to port as a precautionary measure, according to the release.

All three ships had stopped in Iceland for a pre-exercise training event. The ships were delayed in arriving to Iceland due to heavy seas. Several sailors and Marines involved in the exercise told USNI News that many onboard were sea sick and that the ships altered their course to avoid even worse conditions. The Iwo Jima ARG was supposed to participate in an amphibious landing on Oct. 16, which was pushed to Oct. 17 due to the delay in arriving in Iceland. The landing was eventually canceled due to rough surf in the landing zone.

« Last Edit: January 13, 2019, 01:02:00 AM by vox_mundi »

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“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― Leonardo da Vinci

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late